07 - A Revival Meeting

Chapter 7 A REVIVAL MEETING

It is difficult for us almost sixty years later to trace the ministry of all the dear servants of God who were so mightily used at this time. As suggested before, so great was the glory of God manifested to them that they felt totally insignificant and unworthy. What a pity it is that men like Seth Joshua, R. B. Jones, and others did not publish a modest report of all that God had wrought in their meetings. Because of this silence, there are at least one hundred books unwritten on the Welsh Revival. Only the "Bema" of Christ will reveal the great exploits of ordinary men and women of God in that day.

Evan Roberts was by far the most publicized preacher of the day. This was not of his own seeking. He was deeply distressed at all the publicity he was receiving and he soon decided that his movements must not be announc­ed beforehand. On many occasions when it was known where he would preach, he would simply say to the ministers who invited him, "YES, I BELIEVE THE LORD WOULD HAVE ME ACCEPT YOUR INVITATION AND COME FOR THREE DAYS, BUT PLEASE DO NOT ANNOUNCE IN WHAT BUILDING I WILL PREACH, THE PEOPLE MUST COME FOR THE LORD AND HIM ALONE; OTHERWISE THE HO­L Y SPIRIT WILL WITHDRAW HIMSELF FROM OUR MIDST." The revivalist also was extraordinarily careful that it should not be thought that the work depended on him.

"I am only one of the instruments God is using. There are many others", he would say. "It is true that God gave me a vision and God gave me a call to this revival, but it was a joy for me to discover later that the same experience was duplicated in the lives of so many dear saints of God. Unknown to each other the same Spirit of God had burdened us all for this awakening".

"People must not rely on me", was his constant cry. "I have nothing for them. They must rely on Him Who alone can minister to their needs. When you go to the window, you do not go to look at the glass, but through it at the scenery beyond. Then look through me and see the Lord."

It is easier for us to trace the supernatural work of the Spirit in the meetings of young Roberts, however, owing to the heavy publicity that his meetings received.

Time limits in the meetings were forgotten. Announced to begin a certain hour, people gathered an hour or two before. Meetings closed when they were ended. Clocks were completely ignored. Meetings began as soon as part of the congregation had assembled. There was no waiting for any human leader. Never was there a religious movement so little indebted to the guiding brains of its leaders. When the evening meeting which began at 7 o’ clock poured out at 3 o’clock next morning other crowds were preparing to get into the chapel for the early morning prayer meeting! In many places all work ceased during the time of the visit of Evan Roberts. The factories and shops sometimes closed for one to three days so the people could attend the meetings. A famous reporter of the great London Daily visited the meetings of the young prophet of Loughor in order to describe to the people in London the amazing scenes about which they had heard. He wrote:

I found the flame of Welsh religious enthusiasm as smokeless as its coal. There are no advertisements, no brass bands, no posters. All the paraphernalia of the got-up job are conspicuous by their absence. There is no instrumental music. The pipe organs lie unused. There is no need of instruments for in and around and beneath surge the all-prevailing thrill and throb of a multitude praying, and singing as they pray. The vast congregations are soberly sane, as orderly and at least as reverent as any congregation I ever saw beneath the dome of St. Paul’s cathedral. Tier above tier in the crowded aisle to the loftiest gallery sit or stand as necessity dictates, eager hundreds of serious men and thoughtful women, their eyes riveted upon the platform or UPON WHATEVER PART OF THE BUILDING IS THE STORM CENTER OF THE MEETING. The vast majority of the congregation are stalwart young miners.

"We must obey the Spirit" is the watchword of Evan Roberts, and he is as obedient as the humblest of his audience. No one uses a hymn book; no one gives out a hymn. The last person to control the meeting in any way is Evan Roberts. You feel that the thousand or fifteen hundred persons before you have become merged into one myriad-headed but singlesouled per­sonality. You can watch what they call "the influence of the power of the Spirit" playing over the congregation as an ebbying wind plays over the surface of the pond. A very remarkable instance of this abandonment of the meet­ing to the spontaneous impulse, not merely of those within the walls but of those crowded outside, who were unable to get in, occurred on Sunday night. Twice the order of proceeding, if order it can be called, was altered by the crowd outside who, by some mysterious impulse started a hymn on their own account which was at once taken up by the congregation within. On one of these occasions Evan Roberts was addressing the meeting. He at once gave way and the singing became general. The meeting always breaks out into a compassionate and consoling song, until the soloist, having recovered his breath, rises from his knees and sings a song. The praying and singing are both wonderful. But more im­pressive than either are the breaks which occur when utterance can no more, and then the sobbing in the silence momentarily heard is drowned in tempest of melody. No need for an organ. The assembly is its own organ as a thousand or fifteen hundred sorrowing or rejoicing hearts find expression in the sacred Psalmody of their native hills.

Repentance, open confession, intercessory prayer, and above all else this marvelous musical liturgy - a liturgy unwritten, but heart-felt - a mighty chorus rising like the thunder of the surge of the rock-bound shore, ever and anon broken by the flute-like note of the singing sisters whose melody is as sweet and as spontaneous as the music of the throstle in the grove or the martin in the skies. And all this vast quivering, throbbing, singing, praying, exultant multitude intensely conscious of the all-pervading influence of some invisible reality - now for the first time moving palpable though not tangible in their midst. They call it THE SPIRIT OF GOD.

Naturally, when the young revivalist went to new places where the people had never seen nor heard him before and many had even come from distant lands, it was only to be expected that they would pack out the meetings in expectation that he would be there. Such was the case in Liverpool, for instance. Said Sir Edward Rus­sell, the distinguished journalist and editor of the LIVERPOOL POST:

"If anyone had gone into the great Calvinist church in the Princess Row on the Saturday evening without any previous intimations, he might well have failed to dis­cover - at all events till after four hours - and then he might have been forgiven for missing it - that the 2500 densely-packed, visibly excited people assembled had come to hear and were longing to hear, a young man who in the main sat saying nothing, doing nothing, with his head on his hands."

LET US VISIT TOGETHER A TYPICAL REVIV­AL SERVICE. A spiritual cyclone has already swept the town even before the revivalist’s visit. Thirteen hundred newborn souls are rejoicing in their great Redeemer. The service has been going on for three hours without any human leader. Nobody can say who started the service and nobody can say even at this moment how the service is going to continue. They are singing with great intensity:

See! the Righteous Sun is risen 0’ er our land in splendour bright:

Every desert part now liveth Verdue green gives forth delight.

Jesu’s Spirit is still rushing As the wind, with strength and flame;

Sinners seek, in deep repentance, Free salvation in His Name.

Hush! I hear the winds re-echoing Jesu’s words on Calvary:

"It is finished"; for the sinner Life, salvation, liberty:

Jesus Christ, the great Redeemer, At the Throne now pleads for thee;

0, ye sinners, do receive Him, He will save and set you free.

Now an earnest lad of sixteen years comes straight up to the front of the audience with a Bible in his hand waiting for a break in the meeting. He stands silent with rapt expression and then when he reads the portion in Welsh he slips away. He has obeyed the Spirit. A young miner just converted two weeks before cannot keep still. He just has to break forth in song. Thus he begins to sing:

Hast thou ever heard of the Savior of men, That willingly died on the tree?

He gave Himself as an offering for sin, He suffered and suffered for thee;

He died on the cross, but He rose from the grave, A Savior that’s able and willing to save.

Hast thou ever heard of the sinless and true, Who pities a sinner like thee? Did father or mother to child ever tell Of any so gracious as He?

He healeth the sick and restoreth the blind, To all that accept Him the Savior is kind.

O sinner, come to Him, He calleth for thee, A prodigal life lead no more;

He seeketh to save thee from sin and from death, He’s knocking even now at thy door:

Accept Him this moment, it is not too late, Thy sin He will pardon, although it is great. In prayer continue, He will hear thy voice, For thee in thy weakness He pleads; In glory, He has not forgotten thee, friend, But for thee in love intercedes.

Forgiveness, forgiveness, He’ll freely bestow, And make thee, poor sinner, even whiter than snow 0, for thee He is waiting, 0, for thee He is waiting, 0, for thee He is waiting just now. The young man can only get through the first verse before he breaks into sobbing. Spontaneously the people all over the building take up and continue the invitation hymn. The chorus is sung some thirty or forty times by all the people. The building is filled with the glory of the Lord. Every eye beams an unusual radiance. Each bosom swells with the surge of feeling. A young lady now stands. She is Annie Davies with the nightingale voice. She is only eighteen years of age. Previously she had come with her sister to a revival ser­vice in a critical and cold attitude for she was out of touch with the Lord. Not so tonight; she is completely broken down. Her soul is moved to its deepest depths. She cannot refrain from weeping. With an irresistable force her voice begins to flood the whole building with what later would be known as "The Love Song" of the revival:

Wondrous Love, unbounded Mercy!

Vast as oceans in their flood:

Jesus, Prince of Life, is dying - Life for us is in His blood!

Oh! What heart can e’er forget Him? Who can cease His praise to sing?

Wondrous Love! forever cherished While the Heavens with music ring.

Now comes Evan Roberts, quietly elbowing his way through the dense crowd which throngs the aisle and the chapel, and leans over the big Bible on the pulpit desk. He waits silently for some time and then begins to pray:

Lord Jesus, help us now through the Holy Spirit to come face to face with the cross. Whatever the hindrances may be, we commit the service to Thee. Put us all under the Blood. Oh, Lord, place the Blood on all our past up to this moment. We thank Thee for the Blood. In the Name of Jesus Christ bind the devil this moment. We point to the Cross of Christ. It is our Cross and we take its conquest. Reveal the Cross through the Name of Jesus. Oh, open the Heavens. Descend upon us now. Tear open our hearts - tear­ - give us such a sight of Calvary that our hearts may be broken. Oh Lord, descend now .. now .. open our hearts to receive the heart that bled for us. If we are to be fools - make us fools for Thee. Take us, spirit, soul, and body. WE ARE THINE. Thou hast purchased us. Reveal the Cross for the sake of Jesus ­the Cross that is to conquer the world. Place us under the Blood. Forbid that we should think of what men may say of us. Oh speak - speak - speak, Lord Jesus. Thy Words are "wine indeed". Oh, reveal the Cross, beloved Jesus - the cross in its glory. Reign in every heart for the sake of Jesus. Lord, do Thou help us to see the dying Saviour. Enable us to see Him conquering the hosts of darkness. Claim victory for Thy Son, now Lord. He is worthy to have the victory. THOU ART THE ALL-POWERFUL GOD. OH, CLAIM VICTORY. We shall give all the glory to Thy Name. No one else has a right to the glory but Thee. - Take it, Lord. Glorify Thy Son in this meeting. OH, HOLY SPIRIT - DO THOU WORK THROUGH US AND IN US NOW. Speak Thy Word in power for Thy Name’s sake. Amen - and Amen!

All around, the huge audience of men and women begin to pray and heaven is opened as different people stand up in different parts of the building, down below and in the gallery, crying out, "Lord, save me!" "Oh God, I come to Thee now!" This is followed by shouts of glory echoing through the building and then, as if an invisible conductor had come to the pulpit with his baton, the crowd now sings exultingly with glorious triumph:

Ride in triumph, blessed Jesus, Gird Thou on Thine armour bright, Neither earth can stand before Thee, Nor proud hell with all its might; At Thy name, so great and glorious, All Thy foes depart in fear;

Terror holds the wide creation When Thou, Christ of God, art near. The revivalist has been waiting for the Spirit’s time for him to give the message. He begins now his message. It is on THE SUFFERINGS OF CHRIST. He is not long speaking when he, himself is broken down. He tries again to picture the depths of the suffering Savior.

He is not allowed to continue as a young girl thrills the assembly when she cries out, "Oh, dear Jesus, sweating for me!" The people are quite overcome and are bathed in tears. There is a subdued holy quietness now over the atmosphere while hundreds, unsaved and saved alike, whisper in holy wonder, "Oh, blessed Lord Jesus, Who died for me".

Now, one by one, people stand up and testify of being saved there and then.

Someone suddenly commences a hymn. The scene is suddenly changed. The whole crowd is on its feet now, swayed by intense spiritual enthusiam, and pouring out its feelings in various ways - a word of praise, a hymn of spiritual worship, a Bible message from an unknown person.

Visitors who have come from all parts of the world to see this amazing sight and who have never been in a revival meeting before cry out, "Hush!". They have come to hear Evan Roberts. But what is the good of saying "Hush"? It would have been as well to say "hush" to the ocean’s swelling tide. The deepest emotions of the people have been liberated and they rush forth like a mighty flood. A beautiful voice begins now to sing. It comes from the gallery. It is Sam Jenkins, the singing evangelist. "Tell Mother I’ll be there ... " rings out in song:

Tell Mother I’ll be there In answer to her prayer: This message, blessed Savior, to her bear.

Tell Mother I’ll be there, Heav’n’s joys with her to share ...

Yes, tell my darling mother I’ll be there.

Once again the revivalist tries to speak, but a thin pip­ing voice in the gallery begins to unburden its soul.

"Shh! Sh" cries the congregation, listening for the voice of the evangelist. In a moment, with a wave of the hand, he stops the rebuking voices and waits till that small quivering treble ceases. We are reminded of One of whom the prophet foretold: "The smoking flax will He not quench." The spirit of intercession is once again poured out. Almost a hundred persons are on their feet engaged in prayer at one time and yet everything seems to be in perfect harmony. All are gloriously conscious of the wonderful presence of Jehovah in their midst. Evan Ro­berts is now radiantly happy. The handsome face, the arresting eye, the gentle voice infused with an emotional tremor, all bespeak the love of the Spirit.

Thus the meeting goes on until 3 o’clock next morning.